Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978). Fishes Like Neckties, American Magazine interior illustration study, 1934. Oil on...

Description

Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978)
Fishes Like Neckties, American Magazine interior illustration study, 1934
Oil on canvas
31 x 29-3/4 inches (78.7 x 75.6 cm)


PROVENANCE:
Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, May 29, 1981, lot 198;
William Doyle Galleries, New York, September 23, 1981, lot 85;
Private collection, New York, acquired from the above;
By descent to the present owner.

LITERATURE:
L.N. Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, vol. II, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 1986, pp. 594-95, no. S40a, illustrated.

Fishes Like Neckties is a study for an illustration for Louis H. Cook's story "Fishes Like Neckties," which was published in the May 1934 issue of American Magazine. The story is a fanciful tale of the mostly unsuccessful fishing exploits of the narrator, an avid and insatiable fisherman. He contemplates the angling methods of historical characters, including Izaak Walton and Rip Van Winkle. Walton was an English author who penned The Compleat [sic] Angler, a 17th century account of his own fishing expeditions. Rip Van Winkle is the fictional character created by Washington Irving, who lived, and fished, in the Catskills. Cook writes, "Ike Walton never saw a modern reel nor a braided linen line. Yet he caught a lot of fish, or anyway says he did. Rip Van Winkle, one of the famed fisherman of literature, did his fishing with a long pole cut from the lakeside, and it was probably equipped with a grocery store line, a nail for a sinker, and a three-for-a-penny hook (American Magazine, p. 59)." Perplexed by his own lack of success despite the modern advances in the sport, Cook marvels at these historical characters' success with only limited resources.

For the present work, Fred Hildebrandt, Rockwell's studio assistant and frequent model during the 1930s, posed as Izaak Walton. Another favorite model for Rockwell during the period, Dave Campion posed as Rip van Winkle.

More information about Norman Rockwell. See also: Rockwell, Norman, Rockwell, Norman Perceval Artist.



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